Christmas 2010...to be continued

We have the blessing of having 3 Christmases each year! It's quite fun. This year we will be in 4 states by the time December is over (the last Christmas and 4th state are coming Thursday!)  Our first stop was Enid, OK with Jeff's mom side of the family.  Jeff's sister, Andrea and her little girl Reagan, were able to come up from Colorado and that was great to spend time with them. Since they are so far away we rarely see them. Creighton loves playing with the other "Rae Rae" in the family :)  The slept on the pallet together each night! :)

 Taylor joined us for Enid Christmas this year and it was great to have him around. He is sporting the FOOTED pajamas that Jeff and I got for him! :)  he loved them

 "Christmas morning" in Enid 2010.  Jackson (as typical) was excited and grateful for EVERYthing he opened....but he was very excited about his remote control car. I must say it's pretty fun to play with!

Charleigh cuddled with several of us during the opening of presents but didn't have a whole lot to do with unwrapping gifts this year.  She's just too sweet for words. This is her sweet smile (the best pic I got of her unfortunately) after she opened and hugged her new Cabbage Patch cloth doll.  It's a sweet little biracial (light) baby with dark curly hair. I love it. She likes to kiss her and give her hugs.  She got sweet fun girly things and lots of new cute clothes to wear!

 Creighton, on the other hand, (also typical) was not excited about anything she opened until this.  After she opened her "Tangled" set (Rapunzel, Flynn Rider, and horse) she stated, "I don't need to open anything else, this is all I wanted" Oh baby, I love you, but we have so much work to do on that personality and people skills! But I am so glad you love your Tangled characters :) She plays with them NONSTOP

Jackson was very disappointed after he opened all of his presents from Grammy and Pop that he didn't receive the ONE thing he wanted most.  He asked Grammy for it, but he also was able to ask Santa (for the first time in his life) for a gift this year.  Well,  he wanted the DELUXE BUZZ LIGHT YEAR with remote control.  It's pretty stinkin' cool.  He was ELATED that he was able to open it because apparently 

"Santa" (Grammy) couldn't wait because she was so heartbroken that he was so heartbroken.  He was SO excited!

 That sweet smile I can't get enough of.  The cool thing is he gets (outwardly) as excited about just about everything.  This kid LOVES gifts/surprises.

 Creighton asked for Jessie and a skateboard from "Santa" this year.  She didn't seem to notice she hadn't received her because of aforementioned love for Tangled set.  But she was super excited, actually, about getting JESSIE too, because she got the cutest ever Jessie boots that she wears everywhere!  I even had to put her hair like Jessie's (with a YELLOW bow) (I was secretly just excited I didn't have to force her to let me do something to her hair :))

 I don't have pics of Jeff and I from this Christmas since we were taking them all, and also keeping 3 kids and all the stuff organized throughout the morning.  But I was VERY excited to receive a really nice sewing machine and NEW BOOTS! I have worn them already several times and I LOVE LOVE LOVE them. I will have to figure out how to use my new sewing machine since I know nothing about it, but I am very excited to learn!

Jeff got new Oakley glasses, a new BLUE Northface jacket, and money for new Apple product :) He was one happy man! :) We were all blessed with so much more, and are very appreciative!

The kids and I headed straight from Enid to Branson to have Christmas #2, state #3 (state #1 was a trip to Texas with the Holley's December 10th).  The long car drive wasn't nearly as bad as I had anxiety attacks about.  Charleigh doesn't enjoy the car. The madder she gets, the higher pitched her screaming gets. In a confined car, it's really hard...but she didn't do too bad.  She and Creighton slept from Enid to Tulsa, so the first hour and half was great! :)  The latter half of the trip wasn't great, but it's been much worse in the past, so I gave it a thumbs up!  We got there and that's what mattered!  How the big kids acted once we actually arrived was a whole 'nuther story...I thought I was going to go INSANE, but they calmed down eventually :)

I didn't take ANY pictures the first few days. 3 kids and 1 mom didn't leave an extra hand for a camera.  But we did have LOT of fun and made many memories.  We made/decorated ornaments, we swam in the heated indoor pool, we played shuffleboard, we watched movies, we ATE (and ate and ate and ate), we looked at Christmas lights, we laughed and played games and the kids played all kinds of games and make-believe and watched A LOT of TV/Movies.

Then Daddy came!!!! We were all very excited. But when he came, he brought really cold weather with him.  But that's okay we all bundled up (with the exception of Creighton who REFUSED to wear a coat, and Charleigh and Grandma Maxie stayed at the Condo) and went to Silver Dollar City anyway!  It was absolutely FREEZING.

We were only able to ride rides for about 30 minutes before they had to shut them down because it was TOO COLD!  Creighton loves the butterflies~!  I did get her to wear her hat thankfully and she wore that fleece jacket but wouldn't put on ANYTHING ELSE, even after I forcefully tried.  She was FREEZING.

 They had The Living Nativity and it was cool. It was nice to be indoors and thaw out and then warm up too!  The kids got to take a pic with the real donkey :)

 The other show we went to was A Christmas Carol: Scrooge! It was awesome. Great production.  Here's the whole gang in 2 shots.  Jacob, Jackson, Nonna, Clay, Lacy, Sarah, Aaron, Creighton, Mommy...

 Daddy, Aunt Christy, and Papaw (Grandma Maxie and Charleigh weren't with us)

 Jeff took this pic as we were leaving the park because the only camera we had was the IPhone and he didn't want to give it to someone. The lights/tree were beautiful. We were sitting in a sleigh but you can't really tell.  This was closing time and it had dropped in the teens I think. It was too cold to be outside and we'd been there for hours by this time!

"Christmas morning" in Branson was actually celebrated on Thursday morning because several of the group was needing to leave Friday morning.  So we all cuddled in one of the condos and had a good time.  Our presents were the condo, silver dollar city, Dixie Stampede, and then mom and dad got a few things and stockings :)

 Charleigh got a sweet light up duck that she loves!  I don't have pics of the others but Creighton got a new Barbie car she LOVES and Jackson couldn't be more excited about his SPY watch he asked Nonna for!  He's so fun to watch open because he gets SO excited!

 This is Dixie Stampede! The kids LOVED it. I wasn't sure if they would or not, but they did. Creighton LOVES horses and so she was in heaven.  And she loves to sing/perform and so it was double heaven for her. She was in awe the whole time!

 Cute cowboy!

We were suppose to stay until Christmas morning at the condo, but the weather was suppose to get bad and so we ended up leaving casually on Friday afternoon.  Jeff got the privilege of driving the 3 kids home from Branson since I had trekked across the state of OK alone for 6 hours. :) I really enjoyed the nice peaceful and quiet car ride home :)  But he sent me this not too far into the trip. :)  I was glad for his sake

 It was actually nice to be home a day early. I had missed my bed worse than I imagined!  IT was also nice to be just our little cozy family on Christmas Day with NOTHING to do.  It was nice that it could be ALL ABOUT CELEBRATING JESUS!  We started out with baking a birthday cake. The kids loved it.

 The helped and did most of the stuff with the help of the MIXER :)

 All the girls!

 And my sweet boys!

 The finished product!  Happy Birthday Jesus!

 Later that day we went down south to visit with my Uncle Les and his family (I rarely get to see my fave boy cousin Kevin and so that was a treat!) I had made Taco Soup and brought it to eat at my parents' house afterwards.  It was yummy and there wasn't a drop left afterwards.  The kids inhaled it they were so hungry. I was glad to have made dinner for my mom and grandma since they cooked their hearts out the week in Branson! (and it was a bonus they liked it! ;))

These are pics my aunt Wanda took at her house that night! Love this kid to pieces!

 And this one...(and Jax too)

Fun family picture!  The girls were wearing matching outfits from Grammy and Pop and Rae had her new Jessie boots on even though you can't see them in the pic!

We are over and above beyond all comprehension blessed and continue to be.  This has been a wonderful Christmas so far and we aren't done yet... We leave Thursday to go to a trip to Florida (state #4, Christmas #3)!  The kids are so excited for their first ever visit to Disney World!  Jeff's Dad and Debbie arranged for everyone to go for our Christmas this year.  We are going to be there till January 3rd, so my Disney post will be in the 2011 post, but we are SOOOOOOO excited to be there very soon!

Thank you all for our sweet and thoughtful gifts and trips this year.  It's been a Christmas to remember forever! Most of all, and most importantly, we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who came humbly and lowly to this earth as a baby boy in order that he might live to DIE for my sins, and yours.  We celebrate Him.  We do it by loving family, giving, and yes, receiving.  We receive you Lord Jesus!!! Thank you for coming.  Thank you for sacrificing for me.

I love my family!

...to be continued in 2011

I thought of so many who might benefit from reading this

MATT B. REDMOND|5:00 AM CT
Christmas Is for Those Who Hate It Most

We are by now accustomed to hearing about how Christmas is difficult for many people. The story of Scrooge and his—ehem—problems with this season is no longer anecdotal. It is now par for the course. Maybe it always has been. Maybe the joy of the season has always been a thorn in the side of those who can scarcely imagine joy.


Not too long ago, I heard from someone about how difficult Christmas would be because of some heartbreak in their family. There was utter hopelessness and devastation. Christmas would be impossible to enjoy because of the freshness of this pain. It’s been a story very hard to forget.

I get it. I mean, it makes sense on the level of Christmas being a time in which there is a lot of heavily concentrated family time. The holidays can be tense in even the best of circumstances. Maneuvering through the landmines of various personalities can be hard even if there is no cancer, divorce or empty seat at the table. What makes it the most wonderful time of the year is also what makes it the most brutal time of the year. My own family has not been immune to this phenomenon.

But allow me to push back against this idea a little. Gently. I think we have it all backwards. We have it sunk deep into our collective cultural consciousness that Christmas is for the happy people. You know, those with idyllic family situations enjoyed around stocking-strewn hearth dreams. Christmas is for healthy people who laugh easily and at all the right times, right? The successful and the beautiful, who live in suburban bliss, can easily enjoy the holidays. They have not gotten lost on the way because of the GPS they got last year. They are beaming after watching a Christmas classic curled up on the couch as a family in front of their ginormous flat-screen. We live and act as if this is who should be enjoying Christmas.

But this is backwards. Christmas—the great story of the incarnation of the Rescuer—is for everyone, especially those who need a rescue. Jesus was born as a baby to know the pain and sympathize with our weaknesses. Jesus was made to be like us so that in his resurrection we can be made like him; free from the fear of death and the pain of loss. Jesus’ first recorded worshipers were not of the beautiful class. They were poor, ugly shepherds, beat down by life and labor. They had been looked down on over many a nose.

Jesus came for those who look in the mirror and see ugliness. Jesus came for daughters whose fathers never told them they were beautiful. Christmas is for those who go to “wing night” alone. Christmas is for those whose lives have been wrecked by cancer, and the thought of another Christmas seems like an impossible dream. Christmas is for those who would be nothing but lonely if not for social media. Christmas is for those whose marriages have careened against the retaining wall and are threatening to flip over the edge. Christmas is for the son whose father keeps giving him hunting gear when he wants art materials. Christmas is for smokers who cannot quit even in the face of a death sentence. Christmas is for prostitutes, adulterers, and porn stars who long for love in every wrong place. Christmas is for college students who are sitting in the midst of the family and already cannot wait to get out for another drink. Christmas is for those who traffic in failed dreams. Christmas is for those who have squandered the family name and fortune—they want “home” but cannot imagine a gracious reception. Christmas is for parents watching their children’s marriage fall into disarray.

Christmas is really about the gospel of grace for sinners. Because of all that Christ has done on the cross, the manger becomes the most hopeful place in a universe darkened with hopelessness. In the irony of all ironies, Christmas is for those who will find it the hardest to enjoy. It really is for those who hate it most.

Matt B. Redmond is associate pastor for Branch Life Church in Birmingham, Alabama. A graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary.

Christmas outfits :)

Oh Charleigh...

...you are just TOO cute for your own good.

YOu didn't leave these on long, but you did let me put them on you and even smiled but I didn't have the camera ready! You are funny!  You have just about mastered balance to walk without quite so wicked of a wobble :) You are so proud of yourself and it's pretty funny when you "run" away from me.  

TOday is your last day of school for the year 2010 and every big class was having their party, so I dressed you up too :)  You were so cute riding your horse this morning!

I gave you a bath this morning and washed your hair but I didn't get it put up in time before it went crazy :)

Your sweet Mary Janes were one for mere seconds before you had them off. You look very sweet in your candycane dress.

There is your sweet smile! You are so full of personality.  You were not too happy 5 minutes before this when we tried to get a sibling picture.  Oh well. We'll take this anyday!

The first body part you learned to find was your belly button. It's so cute.  You hunt for it like it's gone missing or may not be there every so often.  Today I happen to catch it on camera. :) LOVE IT!

You thought you were pretty funny too! You are a walking-talking machine now.  Oh and you definitely found your lungs.  I laugh when people mention how quiet you are...which is true most of the time. But they've never been in the car with you.  It seems you don't like your seat much...you let us know in no uncertain terms my sweet girl.  Whew.  And just when we have lots of car trips coming up, too!

Canning 101

I am pretty sure I needed some guidance this go around...but oh well. I think (emphasis on think) I got them all (but 2) canned correctly.

Cruz made amazing Tomatilla Salsa for me to can for staff presents this year. This stuff is just like drinkable good!

The jar were in the dishwasher and the lids were carefully washed by my sweet husband!

The first set doing their thing

both sets out and ready...(well kind of)

Aren't the pretty!? I am going to make them prettier with a little Christmas-y decorations/tags before I had them out. But I am quite proud of myself.

I had to put several back in to boil longer because the lids didn't seal but I think I got them this time...I am hearing POPing loudly from the kitchen. :) (I think that's a good sign)